Said at the time of the trade that I was excited for Cotter and he'd play top 9. Glad he earned it pretty much immediately. Was at the game last night. Great to see them get a win, especially with a few key players looking shaky / not playing to their potential yet.
Early season pros:
- bottom 6 has been excellent. 3rd line last night could have had 5 goals if Haula (who still played well) didn't panic in tight to goal
- much better job defensively with active sticks and general positioning
- playing a bit more physical, as expected with the additions of Nose, Cotter, Dillon
- Casey
Early season cons:
- the Jack Hughes fan club better prepare themselves for a brief benching / some minor drama (happens to a lot of young, great players at some point. Isn't end of world). He looks objectively awful. He was responsible for 10+ losses of possession last night alone. He's not just playing bad for a player of his level, he's playing bad as a pro period. Spare me the shoulder excuses. A lot of it is still between the ears. I said in the offseason he needed some tough love to take the next step, so we'll see how he reacts when he gets it.
- The Meier Hughes Bratt electric boogaloo pt 2 endeavor needs to end. It doesn't work. It never worked.
- Hamilton clearly doesn't have the same zip / accuracy on his shot yet. Just needs some time hopefully
- I hope I'm proven wrong, but results aside, I still think Markstrom is an average goalie. Devs massively overpaid. I continue to be mystified how the self proclaimed goalie aficionados on this site can watch him play and not be concerned with: how deep he sits in the crease, his constant over/mishandling of the puck (minor, but annoying), and the constant overshoot of the post when moving laterally. He plays small for his size.
- Palat. Everyone that defended that contract from day 1 should have to wear a scarlet letter